FROM INSECTS | Silkworms | Wooden leather

The silkworm cocoon is composed by a thread of raw silk from 300 to 1000 meters which represents hundreds of layers of fibers. The cocoon can be cut in two parts and the fibers can be extracted one by one. The fibers contain a natural glue called Sericin, it is a resinous substance that links the silk fibers together in the raw stage of the sericulture. This natural glue can be activated by spraying water and heating the fibers. The outcome of this process is the creation of a strong paper.I have been creating meters of meters of paper. To give strength to the material and change its natural state, I made a varnish with the propolis and applied it on top of the paper. The result is a wooden leathered material.

The wooden aspect of the material comes from the thousands of thousands of fibers combined together in the silkworm’s paper.

This new material can be used for different applications such as furniture design, fashion design and surface design.